Vitran cuts year outlook, cites health costs, weaker economy

RobertDaniel

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Vitran Corp.,
vtncca:vtn
the Toronto transportation and logistics firm, reduced its estimate of 2006 earnings per share due to higher-than expected health-care and workers'-compensation costs and to "the impact of the recently softening economy on Vitran's U.S. less-than-truckload and truckload segments." The company now sees the year's profit at $1.48 to $1.52 a share; it had estimated $1.63 to $1.73. A survey of analysts by Thomson First Call produced a consensus estimate of profit of $1.66 on $489 million of revenue for Vitran. Key less-than-truckload metrics are showing "positive year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter comparisons," but "our legacy U.S. central-states territory is not performing to plan," the company said in a statement.

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